The Mayor of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre has claimed that he "regrets" the criticism he has faced over the last week after he lambasted a decision to repaint a zebra crossing at the Montgomery roundabout in the colours of the rainbow flag.
"I really regret that my municipality is singled out, for demagogic purposes, as being intolerant and that some describe me as a homophobic mayor," Benoit Cerexhe (Les Engagés) said on the Bonjour Bruxelles radio programme on Thursday.
Cerexhe added that he had no "ideological" qualms over the repainting of the pedestrian crossing and that his opposition was motivated purely by concerns over "road safety".
"If I wasn't comfortable with gay rights, why would the rainbow flag fly in front of the town hall?" he said. "Why would there be benches in the public space repainted in the colours of the rainbow? The case can be debated on a whole series of ways of showing support [for LGBTQ+ rights], but pedestrian crossings do not seem to me to be ideal."
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During the programme, Cerexhe vehemently defended both his own and his municipality's record on LGBTQ+ issues. "Woluwe-Saint-Pierre has always been proud for being as an inclusive commune, a tolerant commune, an open commune, and particularly in support of this cause," he said. "We are probably one of the only municipalities to give training to our staff to raise their awareness [of LGBTQ+ issues]."
Asked by programme host Fabrice Grosfilley whether, by opposing the repainting of the zebra crossing, Cerexhe was trying to transmit a "subliminal message" to the "homophobic electorate", the 61-year-old responded that this was an "unacceptable fabrication" and that his "record shows how much he is committed to this cause".
